Tag Archives: Baltics

Scandinavian Adventure!

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We are getting settled in our “home-away-from-home” here in Tallinn, Estonia. Thank you all for your prayers and support to help us get here and stay here. We appreciate you all! The resident missionaries are allowing us to stay in their beautiful home while we are “filling in” here for the next eight weeks. What a blessing! You can also see more beautiful, even panoramic, pictures on our Faith Journey page. The Sweetheart captured some gorgeous views! Our short layover in Oslo, Norway was delightful. Here we are right before landing. I had an unobstructed view! photo 1 (16) We have a friend there, Rachel, who was in Riga, Latvia at the same time we were in 2011-2012. She now lives in Oslo and was our friendly tour guide for the few hours we had between planes. photo 3 (13) Thankfully it was a gorgeous day, sunny and a little on the cool side but I sure do not miss 90 and humid! We were to meet at a coffee house and set off from there. Admittedly, we had a horrible time finding it and thought we were following her directions correctly. At the end of the day we figured out what had gone wrong: Rachel was giving us directions from the BUS terminal that she takes every day, instead of the TRAIN terminal, which was adjacent! We just couldn’t figure out why we weren’t seeing the landmarks that she gave us as guidelines. We gave her a break on that one because she flew in to Oslo one hour BEHIND us from the States. She was just as exhausted as we were. photo 1 (15) photo 3 (18)   photo 2 (38)   So from the coffee house we went to the harbor. Look at the view! photo 3 (16)   photo 3 (17) After spending a little bit walking around there we headed to one of our favorite Baltic restaurants, Vapiano’s! We had already decided it would be our first stop once in Tallinn but we had no idea there was one in Oslo! Delicious pasta, pizza and salads made to order, very trendy, very delicious! After lunch we trekked toward the Opera House. What a unique architectural landmark! photo 2 (37) Sitting literally on the water, this was something to see. We had already walked farther than my painful SI joints wanted me to go so once we arrived I told The Sweetheart and Rachel they could walk to the top without me. Persistent Rachel went and found a security guard and asked if there was a way for her friend to get to the top without walking that ramp. What a kind man he turned out to be! He took us on a backstage mini-tour on the way to the elevator! He was getting ready to take a vacation to the States and we had a nice conversation while he escorted us to the top. Norway rocks with hospitality! The views were literally breathtaking. As you can see, the sky was full of ominous-looking clouds which made the scenery all the more beautiful. photo 5 (17)   photo 3 (15)   In this next picture you can see the glass “iceberg” sculpture out in front of the Opera House. Way cool! photo 2 (28)   We also accidentally came across the American Embassy! photo 5 (21) After that excursion we were able to take a bus back to where we started, I was ever so thankful. We found these patriotic toilets in a park…Rachel had seen them before and was intrigued that all of the instructions for these “pay-to-pee” toilets were in French! Never mind that we were in Norway! DSC08877   It wasn’t long before our day was coming to a close. We had a plane to catch to Tallinn and couldn’t afford to miss it. We parted at the train terminal and headed back to the airport. One more flight and our 30+ hours of traveling would come to an end….for now. photo (17) Kingdom2   Sharing with Sunday Stillness , Weekend Brew, Making Your Home Sing, Amaze me Monday

Don’t Sit Me on the Porch…

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I missed my front porch. We sold our house in 2010 to go overseas on missions work, oh how I loved every minute of it! Never regretted selling the house and almost every piece of furniture I had collected in 30 years of marriage. It was supposed to be permanent.

Yes, I loved that house, loved living in the “woods”. Loved the front porch, the country living, small-town life of a pastor’s wife.

But we were ready for the calling God had given us and away we went to Eastern Europe to the Baltics.

Another people. Another world. What a journey, we were there to impact them for the Kingdom but they changed me too. We lived in a Soviet apartment with a Russian landlady who we dearly loved. But no front porch. No trees, no grass to mow, no deer in my back yard, or bobcat, goats or the neighbors chickens.

We had Bible studies, English clubs, fellowship groups, and church. Lives were impacted, friendships were forged, and eternities were altered.

I had to give up my swing, no more squirrels in my hanging pots or chipmunks in my hostas to scare me to death as they darted across the sidewalk. I gave up the country life to go halfway around the globe to share Jesus with strangers.

It was worth it.

Don’t sit me on the porch…

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Linking with Sunday Community, The Weekend Brew

Back in Time…But not too far!

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Blogging Every Day in May Challenge today is links to your favorite Archived Posts! Yay for an easy one! I hope you enjoy and will take the time to read some of my faves that you may have missed!

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12 Hours to Save Thumper was one of our real tear-jerkers! I even got a couple of phone calls, besides the emails and comments, checking on Thumper. True stories are always a winner, even the sad ones…

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I believe I have received more mail on this post than any other so far! If God Forgives Me, Why Can’t I Forgive Myself? How far is the east from the west? How far does the Lord cast our sins when we are forgiven? It is not so hard to believe sometimes that God can forgive us, but it is very difficult for us to forgive ourselves. I have discovered that is one of the things the enemy tortures people with the most! And it is one of the all-time-high Google searches! This article deals with letting go of past wrongs, if God has forgiven you, it is forgotten!

My Three Sons seem to take over here at Hope in the Healing! “Hey, Guy! Somebody Call the Cops!” was definitely one of the busiest days on the blog! In this case there were only two at the time, number three had not yet arrived. No problem, number two could carry out this caper all by himself! Check it out if you haven’t read it yet…it’s a whole lot of fun!

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Are You A Wounded Healer? This was another very popular post that generated alot of email! People that have gone through much suffering in their own life and yet God has turned it around and they can now use that experience to minister to others…they are Wounded Healers. They know just what to say and when to say it, or say nothing at all. They show up at the right time and know how to pray. Their touch and their presence brings peace and comfort.

Don’t Pass By Nikolai is actually one of MY favorites! This happened while we were living in the country of Estonia, in the Baltics. Such a gentle and kindly Russian man, you will enjoy reading the compassionate story of our friend Nikolai. It is a wonderful reminder of the importance of something as simple as a smile.

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He Heals Me, He Heals Me Not. I was not expecting the outpouring of response from this post! Certainly many people could relate to wondering why God heals some and not others or even heals them at certain times in their lives but not others. But even more importantly was our response to it and God’s plan. This article was also my first feature for Internet Cafe Devotions.

I sure shattered my sweet and innocent image when this story broke! Then I’ll Huff, And I’ll Puff, And I’ll… Come on, what would you do??

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This super popular post by my dear friend Randa Chance, just keeps popping up in the archives! When the Music Stops, is one of the most encouraging articles you will ever read anywhere! If you are going through ANYTHING, Randa will help you pull up your bootstraps and get back out there and keep going. She has been through enough to know and God keeps picking her up over and over again. She is an overcomer! BTW, her book, Of Cabbages and Kings, is absolutely a hoot! A great read, you will laugh, you will cry, it will move you…and it’s for sale on the right side of my homepage!!

Randa Chance is a writer, speaker and pastor's wife at the Sanctuary of San Antonio.

Randa Chance is a writer, speaker and pastor’s wife at the Sanctuary of San Antonio.

And we can’t leave out the post that generated me the most views EVER in a single day!! You might know it would come from the cutest couple EVER as well. Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend and A Groom’s Worst Nightmare was a winner for me but a nightmare for my eldest, Kyle. Read the story to see if it has a Happily EVER After…

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Finally, the one that started it all! Faith Journey! I would have to say this is one of my favorites because it tells how the Lord helped me overcome my fears in the country of Latvia in the former Soviet Union. He was so faithful, to one who had never left United States soil and who was afraid of EVERYTHING, especially closed-in spaces! Oh, the fears He helped me face and defeat! I love this story that is funny, scary and full of surprises. I hope you will take the time to read it.

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Thank you for sharing this journey with me! I appreciate every single one of my faithful readers, without you there would be no Hope in the Healing. I encourage you to interact with the blog. Share your comments and your thoughts with me, your input is so valuable! And don’t forget if you have a prayer request, a need or know of someone who does, I take those seriously and would love to join with you in prayer. God bless!